By Sanjeev Datta, Senior Consultant for PerformanceG2
 
IBM’s newest Cognos product recently launched, Cognos Insight, is an analytic solution that empowers you to independently explore, analyze, visualize and share your data.

Watch the below video training series for a demo on Cognos Insight to see the new product in action.
 

 

For more information about Cognos Insight, connect with us at info@performanceg2.com.

PerformanceG2 is a Premier IBM Cognos Business Partner.

 
 
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Kirk Wiseman, VP of Training for PerformanceG2
 
Watch this short Cognos training series video to learn how to correctly set up IIS 7.x to use ISAPI with Cognos 10.
 

 
Connect with us at training@performanceg2.com for more information about our Cognos training. Plus visit our YouTube channel to subscribe to our Cognos training series videos.
 
 
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By Sanjeev Datta, Senior Consultant for PerformanceG2
 

In this blog post, I will describe the step-by-step recovery of a corrupted or misplaced IBM Cognos Framework Manager model. These steps will create an XML file, then run a report against the package of the lost Framework Manager model or project. Next, as you create a blank new project, the necessary files that are created with this process can be replaced, and using the CQEConfig.xml file, the lost or corrupted Framework Manager model can be retrieved.

This method will work for Cognos 8 and Cognos 10.
 
In the current Cognos environment, modify the CQEConfig.xml file as shown here:

 
 
If the file does not exist in the location above, you can create an XML file with the following content:

 
 
Stop the Cognos services and rename the “RTModels” directory to “Original_RTModels”, as shown here:

 
 
Now, restart the Cognos services from Cognos Configuration:

 
 
Launch Report Studio from Cognos Connection and create a new report using the package for which the model needs to be recovered:

 
 

 
 
As the report runs, verify that a new “RTModels” folder has been created, as shown. This folder should also contain an XML file, which needs to be used in the next few steps:

 
 
Remove the CQEConfig.xml file created in the first step.

Stop the Cognos services.

Now, move the newly created “RTModels” directory to another location (desktop).

Now, rename the “Original_RTModels” folder back to “RTModels” and re-start Cognos services.

 
 

Once these steps have been accomplished, in the metadata modeling tool, Framework Manager, create and save a new empty project, as shown here:

 
 

Close this model.
 
Explore into the folder containing the newly created empty project and change the model.xml file to model.xml.origin.

 

Copy the XML file created in the previous step into the Framework Manager project directory and rename it to model.xml (Note: the model.xml.origin will still exist).

This will enable opening the lost Framework Manager model.
 

Want to learn more about Framework Manager?
Take advantage of our Online Cognos Training Framework Manager course available every month, through our easy-to-use remote training classroom, and taught by our certified Cognos instructors. Visit our online training course catalog, or email us at training@performanceg2.com for more information, and to register for your Framework Manager training.

 
 
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By Sanjeev Datta, Senior Consultant for PerformanceG2
 
Some of the new features in TM1 9.5.1 and 9.5.2 are:

1>     Undo/Redo – This feature helps users to undo and redo changes made to data cells in their TM1 cubes. A useful feature when dealing with complex data spreading techniques.

2>     Pick List – TM1 now gives the ability to create pick lists per cell in cube views. Pick list contain a set of values that are menu driven and users select the values from a drop down list. These lists can be populated manually or by TM1 Rules.

3>     Sandboxes – A functionality that brings out the true “what-if” scenario feature in TM1.

4>     TM1 Contributor – A new interface that eases the transition for Cognos Enterprise Planning users to get familiar with TM1

5>     Data Reservation – An alternate method of dynamically controlling write-access to cube views instead of dynamically adjusting TM1 security to achieve the same

6>     Parallel Integration – Increasing concurrent read-write operations on cube objects

Of the new features, let’s take a look at using Sandboxes in TM1. Sandbox gives the data contributor the ability to create data layers on top of the base data, which is primarily used for “what-if” scenario testing. A much awaited functionality that saves development efforts, tightens the finance workflow process, brings trust & confidence in the submitted data and reduces strain on the TM1 server. Frequent direct write-backs to the TM1 cubes slow the overall performance whereas; sandboxes can be used to reduce the risks of a slow performing environment, when used correctly.
 

Here is how it works:

In a situation where modifications to cells in a cube were viewed by the entire user community, the sandbox plays a role in enabling users to modify cell values, work on budget processes and modify data without any other users being able to see the data changes until and unless the data changes were approved and intended for the entire user community – a commit action would send the modifications back to the TM1 server replacing the base data.

In this scenario – a data contributor is looking to create a sandbox off the base version to make data changes that calculate an impact by increasing the Quantity Sold for a certain product by region. As the numbers check out correct, the contributor then commits the changes to the base view.

The user creates a Sandbox by clicking on the drop down on the top right corner of the cube view window. Sandboxes can also be created in excel using the same methodology. Depending on the version of Microsoft Excel (2003, 2007, 2010) the Sandbox icon position changes but generally should be on the top left side of the Excel interface.

Click on Create Sandbox. This option will create a layer on top of the cube view data. This new data layer (or Sandbox) will be viewable by the creator and can be used for “what-if” scenario testing. The selected rectangle for the months of January, February and March for Indirect Stores are to be modified. Note the black font.

Appropriately name the Sandbox in the pop-up window.

 
 
Any changes made to the cells appear as a default blue font.

 
 
Click on Calculate to view the new scenario. The blue font cells denote changes made to the data within the Sandbox, keeping the base numbers constant and unchanged to the rest of the user community.

 
 
By selecting the drop down – one can switch between the base view and Sandbox view without affecting the cells or changing data on the base view.

 
 
Switching back and forth to the base view from any Sandbox, does not change the cell values in the base view, as shown below:

 
 
In situations where an existing Sandbox underdoes an approval process, a new Sandbox can be created from an existing Sandbox. Another use would be to ensure any new changes do not affect data modifications from another “what-if” version.

 
In the screenshot below, notice a new Sandbox with modified cell values, different from the base and Sandbox 1 view.
 

 
 
Let’s go back to the base view. Switching between any Sandbox and Base value does not change the data.

 
Deleting a sandbox can be accomplished by selecting “Delete Sandbox” from the drop down icon.
 

 
 
Select the view to delete and click “OK”

 
 
Upon confirmation and approval of the data changes by clicking on the “Commit” icon – changes the base view. The commit icon should be used when data changes need to be promoted to the entire user community, as shown.

 
 
These features are also available if you are using TM1’s excel interface. As you start creating Sandboxes, it must be noted that Sandboxes are not a copy of the base view but an overlay of the base data. Sandbox enables the data contributors to write back to the TM1 database in a personal workspace environment and commit the changes, when promoting versions to the user community.

From an Administration point of view – usage of additional RAM memory and hard disk space increases as Sandbox functionality is implemented. You can control the amount of memory used per Sandbox in the TM1s.cfg (TM1 configuration file located in the installation folder).

The parameter responsible for defining the sandbox size per user is: MaximumUserSandboxSize

The maximum size per user on a Sandbox is 100MB on a 32 bit environment and a 500MB on a 64 bit environment. To allow for maximum amount of memory allocation, set the value equal to “n”.

Enabling and disabling this feature is controlled within the TM1 configuration file under the parameter:
DisableSandboxing. By default this value is set to F (for False).

TM1 Sandboxes are stored in a sub-folder within the data directory of the TM1 server. It is always good practice to backup this subfolder, along with the TM1 data directory.
 
 
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By Candace Taylor, Marketing Manager for PerformanceG2
 
Event details are already in place for the IBM Information On Demand and Business Analytics Forum 2011 – the premier conference for information and analytics. This year, register early using the exclusive PerformanceG2 code, G11PERFG2, and save $400 off registration! Follow the instructions below to register.

Register before August 31, 2011, follow the instructions below and use the exclusive PerformanceG2 registration code to save a total of $400 off your registration:
 
1. Visit the IBM Information On Demand 2011 Web site registration page
2. Enter your email address and choose the registration type
3. Under the ‘Promotion Code Information’ section, enter the PerformanceG2 code G11PERFG2 to save a total of $400
4. Click ‘Continue’ and complete the remaining fields on the enrollment form clicking ‘Continue’ at the bottom of each section
5. Click ‘Submit Registration’ to finalize your registration process
 
For more information, or questions on how to register, contact me at candace.taylor@performanceg2.com. Don’t miss out on the year’s premier Cognos and business analytics conference! And visit our booth during the event on October 23 – 27 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, for free demos, to hear the latest and greatest in BI and much more!
 
 
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By Candace Taylor, Marketing Manager for PerformanceG2
 
 
Cognos 10 – What’s New, Upgrading, Demos and More On-Demand Webinar
 

 
In this on-demand Webinar video, learn the ins and outs of Cognos 10 including:

• What’s new in Cognos 10 – new features and new capabilities including collaboration and social networking offerings, the new unified BI workspace, and mobile and real-time analytics
• How to upgrade from Cognos 8 to Cognos 10
• Cognos 10 demos – includes demos on Business Insight Advanced, Active Reports and more
• How to integrate MotioCI with Cognos 10 from an upgrade scenario, and how to integrate MotioCI with Business Insight Advanced, a new BI workspace capability in Cognos 10

Register to access a recording of this Cognos 10 Webinar for on-demand viewing.

Questions about Cognos 10 software? Call us at 877.742.4276, or email us at info@performanceg2.com.
 
 
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By John Cusack, Senior Consultant for PerformanceG2
 

Most mail servers have an email attachment size limit, and if a report is sent out that exceeds the limit, the mail server will refuse the email, resulting in the end user being unaware that the email was not received. The following diagnostic and solution is from the IBM Cognos Support Portal, and explains how to overcome this issue.
 

 

In Cognos 8.4.1 FP2, an advanced parameter can be set to limit the email attachment size. If the limit is exceeded, the email is delivered with a txt document instead of the report output stating: CNC-SDS-0417 The attachment, ‘ < report name > ‘, in ‘ < output format > ‘ format, of size < X > MB was not delivered. It had to be removed in order to meet the maximum allowable size of < X > MB for all attachments in one email message.

Steps to set the mail attachment limit:
1. Under ‘Cognos Administration’, go to the ‘Configuration’ tab
2. Click on ‘Dispatchers and Services’
3. Click on the ‘Set Properties’ icon on the top toolbar. This will edit the top level configuration
4. Click on the ‘Settings’ tab
5. The first line will be ‘Environment / Advanced Settings / Edit’, click on ‘Edit’
6. Place in the following for ‘Parameter’: mail.attachment.limit
7. For the ‘Value’ field, enter a whole number which will be the size of MB. For example: 10
8. Click OK and OK again to save. Within 30 seconds, the setting will take affect.
Option: Ensure your DeliveryService Advanced Settings is set to ‘Acquired’, otherwise the top level configuration will not be picked up.
 
 
Need Cognos Support? For more information on PerformanceG2′s Cognos Support services, connect with us at (877) 742-4276 or email us at info@performanceg2.com
 
 
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By Craig Harding, Senior Consultant for PerformanceG2
 

When building a chart in Report Studio, some smaller contributing items can now be easily grouped together based on rules that you define. Of course, this could have been accomplished in Cognos 8, but you would have to define your own logic statements.

For the following example, I will be building a chart using the Cognos 8 sample data. *NOTE: When opening up Cognos 10 Report Studio using models that were built in Cognos 8, you will have to go to “Tools > Options > Advanced Options”, and un-check “use legacy chart authoring”.

1. Start by choosing the default column chart.
2. Add revenue as the measure.
3. Add product type as the categories.
4. Running the report results in the following chart:
 

 
5. You will notice that some product types hardly contributed to the overall revenue when compared to some of the better selling product types. There are a few choices on how to handle these. With the chart selected, under the general section of the properties pane, there is a new property called “Summarize Small Items”.
 

 
For this example, I put the maximum items to be displayed at 11. This will give me the top 10, plus another column that will be the total summarization. You could also choose to summarize smaller items based on a percentage threshold, or by absolute values.

6. After the property changes, this is the new output:
 

 
 
 
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By Craig Colangelo, Senior Consultant for PerformanceG2
 
Every time that I utilize Metric Studio to solve a business problem, I am reminded of how valuable the application truly is. I believe that sometimes Business Intelligence developers do not often get the opportunity to utilize this technology; therefore, I thought that I would take a couple of minutes to share some of the reasons I think this application is different than some of the other studios and presentation methods.

Here are some differentiators and value, to prove how this application is a huge bang for your BI buck:
 

• Helps drive performance rather than just present information. This is a corporate performance management application designed to align operational metrics with higher level strategies. You can ensure that all levels of your organization are all working towards the correct, shared goals. A thoughtful implementation of this app drives performance in the right direction by use of explicit links between metrics and strategies, cause and effect diagrams, and simple red light / green light performance at a glace. Additionally, each metric needs an owner, so accountability is brought to the forefront as well.

 

• Quick to market. It’s easily overlooked how quickly you can roll out a Metric Studio application. In terms of development, there are really three main distinct chunks of work related to rolling out the app: (1) install/configure, (2) create the scorecarding environment and (3) load the data. I have implemented large scale scorecarding apps in less than two weeks, which is very quick. Keep in mind, there are additional considerations that need to be evaluated too (not to minimize the scope), such as how to feed data on an ongoing basis.

 

• Out-of-the-box value adds. Each Metric Studio app has its own performance application or head start. That is, once you do the initial setup/configuration and load work, an FM package is automatically created and published based on the Metric Studio application data itself. You automatically get some valuable audit and dashboard type reports that extend the presentation abilities of the application itself. If you use Cognos 10, you can quickly and easily add these dashboard components to Business Insight and expose via the Cognos portal. The auto-generated FM model is useful as is, but can also be extended to whatever degree you would like.

 

• System of record for performance management data. This application needs three main pieces of data for each metric: (1) actual, (2) target and (3) tolerance. Often times, getting at actual metric values is not too difficult, but pieces like target and tolerance are not as nearly as accessible. Many times, this data exists only in spreadsheets. By pulling actual, target and tolerance data into metric store for key leading and lagging metrics, the metric store can then become the true system of record for disparate target and even actual data. There are many ways to load data into this applications – you can event open up the front end to select users to manually input target or actual numbers, if you would like. This is particularly helpful for those hard to capture measures that do not exist elsewhere.

 

• Truly effective information at a glance. The use of clear performance indicators (red, yellow and green spotlights) and trend indicators (green up arrow and red down arrow) make for a quick understanding of how your metrics are doing. Clever hover-over’s that show 12 months of bar chart data for a metric, allow for a bit deeper understanding. Impact diagrams and default reports allow for an even deeper understanding via guided analysis. End users are able to use the application in whatever way is most meaningful for them.

 

• Graceful presentation of mixed grain metrics. The ability to view ‘most recent values’ allows for a clean, meaningful view of associated metrics, regardless of how often they are gathered. Naturally, different metrics are measured at different time grains (annual customer surveys, monthly financial $’s, daily order totals, etc.). In a standard report, displaying these metrics with different time dimension attributes is tricky. This is not he case in Metric Studio – users can select a specific year, quarter, month, day, or ‘most recent values’.

 
What do you think? Comment on this post and tell me your thoughts on Metric Studio.
 
 
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By Candace Taylor, Marketing Manager for PerformanceG2
 
PerformanceG2 is proud to announce a new Cognos training course offering to our ONLINE training course service – a Framework Manager Online Training class. This two-day Framework Manager online training course is taught by one of our expert Cognos trainers and consultants, in a personalized, easy-to-use remote training classroom. This course provides participants with the knowledge on how to model metadata with Framework Manager using Cognos modeling recommendations as a modeling strategy. Initially, participants will review generic modeling structures and techniques as a foundation for the rest of the course. They will be introduced to basic modeling concepts and naming conventions in the Framework Manager environment, followed by more complex concepts and techniques to resolve reporting traps. Throughout the course, participants will model both operational and star schema metadata for predictable results, as well as create a dimensional model to be used for OLAP style querying. This course also includes access to the Cognos environment for up to a month after the course ends, as well as a book of course materials mailed directly to your home or office. The course is only $995 p/person, for two-days of training, complete access to the Cognos environment and course materials.

Learn more about this course, register for the course to reserve your spot (space is limited), or connect with us if you have any questions.

Also, our 2011 Cognos Training course catalogue is now available. Check out the new course catalogue with courses now focusing on Cognos 10 – download it here.
 

 
 
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